Legal Protection of

Legal protection for children who are in conflict with the law in Indonesian legislation is the result of the Ratification of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, which in one of the principles in the convention is the principle of the best interests of the child. Ratification is carried out by incorporating and making the basis for the formation of laws involving children. The principle of best interest for children is the main reference. This study used the Juridical-Normative Research Method with a Descriptive Analysis Approach, with the aim of analyzing Legislation Related to Children in Conflict with the Law and then to look at the essence and objectives of the Principle of Best Interests for Children. So that this research results in that Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System (UU SPPA) is the Main Law being studied, in that Law provides Legal Protection for children who are dealing with the Law with Three Classifications, children as perpetrators prioritizing restorative justice and diversion, children as victims receive special medical treatment

protection and guidance as a form of guarantee which is the duty and obligation of the state. In this regard, the state has a full stake in being able to guarantee the protection and guidance of children, but in line with the development of the times, the protection and guidance of children is faced with problems and challenges in society, and it is not uncommon to find behavioral deviations committed by children (Dewi Sartika, 2019).
The state participates in guaranteeing the protection of children in the form of attention to their growth and development and protection guarantees, this is stated in Article 28 B Paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD NRI), with the aim of guaranteeing the protection of children sought by government. Children are assets in the future in the advancement of national and world civilization, so that children are of particular concern to the nation in terms of moral, physical and spiritual growth in efforts to fulfil constitutional rights for children. However, in the development of an increasingly elusive world order, it causes children to commit inappropriate acts or irregularities, such as crime or children in conflict with the law.
Improper acts (deviations) committed by children are caused by the underlying factors, including environmental factors, developments in technology and information, the rapid and rapid flow of globalization, advances in science, and the impact of the entry of traditional products from abroad which affect the character and the personality of the nation's children. Another factor is the lack or lack of love and attention, care, parental guidance towards children which will drag children to association and a free environment. Children have special and special characteristics and characteristics, in the settlement of cases before the law must be done in a special and certain way. This specificity can be reflected in the legal process that is handled by the General Court, and from the moment a child is arrested, examined, detained, and tried, his actions must be handled by experts who specifically understand children's problems. Because of the purpose of juvenile justice not only aims to provide criminal sanctions to children who have committed criminal acts, but is oriented towards the principle of the best interests of the child and for the welfare of the child in the future. The purpose of the juvenile justice system should be that in handling juvenile criminal cases it should be handled by a special juvenile court, not the general court. It is important to see countries in the world that are dissatisfied and frustrated with formal criminal laws that have not been able to deliver justice. So that special criminal justice for children is an alternative way of legal justice for children and society (Marlina, 2009) .
Legal protection for children who are in conflict with the law in Indonesia refers to Law Number 3 of 1997 (Harry E, 2003).
Paying attention to restorative justice and diversion in Law 11 of 2012 is basically aligned towards the principle of the best interests of the child. As one of the principles contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Un Convention on The Rights of The Child 1989) which was ratified by Indonesia in 1990, so that technically Indonesia has voluntarily bound itself to the provisions that apply in the Convention. So that on this basis it becomes the basis for research to find out and prove that legal protection for children who are in conflict with the law can be based on the principle of the best interests of children (Wahyudi, 2011).
The data and facts mentioned at the beginning of the discussion show that cases of children in conflict with the law are relatively high. So that this problem is a strong basis for this research to be carried out in an effort to ensure the best interests of the child for children who are in conflict with the law, because basically every child has the same right to get protection from the state through the constitution and laws related to children, without distinguishing in any case.
The type of research method used in this research was qualitative research, with a juridicalnormative approach. Using Secondary Legal Materials originating from Laws and Regulations that regulate children, related journals that discuss children's issues, and other related legal materials. Then the available materials were analysed by normative analysis (Asikin, 2004).
The data analysis method used was collecting and studying secondary legal materials and looking at the synchronization between facts, data and reality. Meanwhile, to analyze the legal material that has been collected in the research, it used a type of descriptive analysis that was used to look at Age Limits called children according to several laws that regulate Children in Indonesia (Apong, 2014).

A. Definition of Children according to Legislation
The definition of a child and the age limit for a child in the Indonesian laws and regulations regarding children have been regulated and explained bellow:  Children's rights must be protected at all levels of the juvenile justice system; This protection is given as a sign of respect for children's human rights. The tight control of "restorative justice and diversion" represents a fundamental shift in the way children are protected when these rules are violated. This regulation aims to keep children away from and excluded from the legal system to prevent the stigmatization of young people who break the law, in this case children as perpetrators who also get an extraordinary mental burden from stigmatization.
To protect children who are in conflict with the law, the settlement process must involve all parties, including parents, family, community, government, and other state institutions whose job is to improve children's welfare. The child concerned also needs special protection.
The practice of diversion is another name for the idea of restorative justice.
In order to find the best answer for the child without the revenge aspect, all parties involved in a particular violation come together during the diversion process to jointly solve the problem and create responsibility for improving the situation.
Agreements that involve all parties, jointly resolve cases, and find the best solutions to cases faced by children are known as restorative justice approaches. This approach protects children in conflict with the law by prioritizing the best interests of the child.
The position of children as perpetrators gets special treatment but with reasonable limits in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, and continues to prioritize the principle of joint responsibility, not merely retaliation, all of which relate to and implementation of the principle of best interest for the child.

Legal Protection of Children as Witnesses
A child who is a witness to a crime, also known as a child witness, is a child under the age of 18 who can provide information for the purposes of investigation, prosecution and examination before a court of law regarding a criminal case that he hears himself. , seen, or experienced. This is stated in Article 1 paragraph (5)  The existence of electronic recording arrangements functions as a witness service to reduce the trauma experienced by children and prevent them from having direct contact with perpetrators of crimes. As a result, apart from being followed by parents/guardians, social workers, and managers of children's correctional institutions (bapas), the child's testimony will be more free and adaptive so that it allows the creation of legal facts that are in accordance with the events experienced by the child himself, in the form of seeing or even feeling a criminal event.
Protection of child witnesses who are dealing with the law is important because of their role and contribution in handling criminal cases, to be able to open the veils of crime so that child witnesses deserve the rights listed in the Law on the Indonesian Juvenile Criminal Justice System.

CONCLUSION
Children who are in conflict with the law, whether as perpetrators, witnesses or victims, often experience physical injuries in addition to psychological wounds that take a long time to heal. Therefore, as a legal remedy that supports the interests of the child, the government provides guarantees for victims as outlined in laws and regulations, all of which are the result of ratification of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child, one of which is the Best Interests Principle for Children. Sometimes the pain experienced by children who are in conflict with the law is not light and it takes a long time to recover.
Both the community and the government take preventive and punitive actions to protect children who face the law. And in terms of facts and data, children who are in conflict with the law have increased, so this needs to be scrutinized and a solution is found.
The handling of child cases is improved by protecting children who are in conflict with the law and using restorative justice strategies. Children who are in conflict with the law, both those who are victims of criminal acts and those who become witnesses, are separated and strictly regulated in Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System (UU SPPA). With a different form of protection from adults, this is done so that children who are in conflict with the law, both as perpetrators, victims, and witnesses, still get their rights as children towards a bright and hopeful future. This is also clear evidence that in terms of legal protection for children who are in